Punjab DGP in Bathinda, traffic snarls in Patiala

It seems Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini is yet to take a lesson from the Supreme Court's strict stand against VIP culture.

Though Saini had been on a two-day visit to Bathinda on Thursday and Friday, but commuters faced a tough time on the local roads due to heavy security arrangements on the route of the DGP's cavalcade.

Like Thursday, traffic snarls and a complete mess on the roads could be witnessed across different parts of the city due to the passage of the DGP's cavalcade on the Patiala-Sangrur national highway.

To manage the traffic, the police had opted to deliberately switch off traffic lights and could be seen managing the traffic manually. Not only this, besides DGP's cavalcade route, the traffic was also halted from other sides resulting in traffic jams and chaos.

The police personnel did not hesitate to use physical power and abusive language to guide people not to park their vehicles on the cavalcade route.

"This is not the way to treat a common man. It was complete mess and nuisance on the roads of Patiala for two days. Despite the apex court's ruling against VIP culture, the state government seems to be in no mood in implementing the court's decision due to the reasons better know to them," said Balwant Singh, a shopkeeper on the Patiala-Sirhind road.

On Friday, the police personnel were deployed on duty from 10am onwards, while DGP's cavalcade crossed through the city only after 5:45pm.

"We have strict instructions from our top bosses not to show any laxity in security, especially on VIP routes," said an ASI level rank officer demanding anonymity.